Shooting for a top 30 finish, the Bears weren’t far off from their goal for the national meet.

“This has been a fun group to work with and they have exceeded expectations,” Dose said. “We will have a nice nucleus of runners returning next year to build on so we will be hoping for a strong season.”

Fleckenstein and Gwiasda finished their careers at DMACC.

“We will miss the leadership of Anna Fleckenstein and Taylor Gwiasda,” Dose said. “They have been great to work with for the past two years.”

Four freshmen running in the national meet provides the Bears with experience heading into the offseason.

“It’s a good experience and will get them used to that kind of thing,” Dose said. “Hopefully, that’ll help them.”

With Teno coming back as a sophomore to lead DMACC’s three other returning runners, next season looks promising for the Bears.

“We’re getting a couple of commitments already for next year,” Dose said. “I look for us to be certainly as strong, if not stronger next year. We hope to keep building on that.”